Untitled
by literallyliterati
Summary: When something bad happens to disrupt Melanie's home life, she decides to make her own investigation only to be aided by a stranger who is willing to lend a hand. Collab fic with a friend.


Melanie stashed her backpack into the train seat with a sigh. Today she had decided to skip her classes to find someone who would listen to her. She looked around and saw the happy people in their own worlds, some even couples smiling while they embark on their next adventure. She let out another sigh. This was not a happy trip for her.

After a few minutes of sitting in her seat and digging out her notebook that she scribbled in what she knew about the case, someone moved into the seat across from her. She looked up, ready to be annoyed at whoever this was but instead gasped to herself. Melanie had hoped this man did not hear her. He was a very good-looking man and his tanned skin made him even more attractive to Melanie.

She steadied her breathing and looked down at her notebook. That was what was important. She wouldn't let herself be distracted. The man pulled out a copy of today's newspaper and studied the first page. He frowned at something on there and it made Melanie wonder what exactly was on it. She also stopped that way of thinking because she knew she belonged in there right now. Melanie swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought.

The train took off once all the passengers were onboard. It seemed like they'd be there forever in that same spot she'd gotten on. Melanie buried herself into her notebook, reading and rereading what she had already memorized. Dates and times and last places. Thing she knew very well within the past few days. It didn't help any but she didn't care. She needed to stay focused.

Her phone chimed. The man across from her looked at her as the latest song from the top ten played low but loud enough for him to hear. She read the offending caller's name and sighed for what seemed like the hundedth time. It was her dad. Melanie clicked ignore. He probably knew by now that she didnt go to school today.

She started to cross and uncross her legs, swinging them over and over each other. Now it seemed impossible to be comfortable on this train seat. Her dad was sure to call back and it bothered her. He cared about where she was but yet didn't believe her about Jamie? Melanie let out another annoyed sigh and tried once again to find a sitting position she liked.

"Are you okay?" She heard a voice across from her ask. Melanie looked to the source and even though she had known no one else was there, it surprised her he was talking to her.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem fine."

Melanie was stunned. Who did he think he was, challenging her about whether she's fine or not? "I'm fine."

"Okay," he said to her and returned to his newspaper.

She wanted to get more into it. She wanted to ask him why he cared. She wanted to ask why she should even tell him anything. Just because he sat across from her didn't mean he deserved a life story from her, not even a recap of her last week.

But he had seemed genuinely concerned when he asked. She hated that on top of everything else, feeling guilty about a stranger on a train was added to her list of worries. She didn't need that and decided to be nicer. Melanie sat up straight and set her notebook aside. "Maybe I'm not fine."

The man moved his newspaper to show his face. He looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say. She knew that feeling. She had it right now too.

"Something wrong?" He asked after a few beats. Melanie nodded. "How bad?"

"Bad," she nodded. "No one wants to take me seriously though."

He nodded too. "Like who?"

She smirked. "No offense, but I have no idea who you are. I may need to be excused from sharing my life story with a stranger on a train."

He mirrored his own smirk and nodded. "That makes sense. Let's start with something easy then."

"Easy?" She asked. The man's face looked nice enough. Maybe she could talk to him after all. "Easy like what?"

"Names," he shrugged as if he was indifferent. "Mine's Jared."

She nodded. "So because you told me yours, if that's your real name, I should say mine?"

He was quiet a moment and Melanie wondered what he saw on her face. "No. You don't have to tell me anything."

"Right," she agreed. She wasn't sure what made her feel so bold with him. But still, she sighed and leaned forward. "Melanie."

"Melanie," he repeated. "Nice to meet you."


End file.
